'Q1 smartphone sales flat as demand weakens in China, Brazil'

NEW DELHI: Global smartphone shipments remained flat at 344 million units in January-March, impacted by weaker demand in China and Brzail as well as parts of Europe, research firm Counterpoint said today.

This is the first time ever since the launch of smartphones that the segment has seen no growth, it said.

While three out of four mobile phones shipped on the planet now are smartphones but shipment has "slowed down considerably", Counterpoint said in a report.

"The slowdown can be attributed due to higher sell-in during the holiday season quarter and weaker demand in markets such as Brazil, China, Indonesia and parts of Europe," the report said.

Also, Chinese brands like Huawei, Xiaomi and Oppo have captured 33 per cent of the global smartphone market, it added.

"This is the first time ever since the launch of smartphone, the segment has seen 0 per cent growth, signaling the key global scale players need to invigorate sales with more exciting products and pricing schemes," he said.

Samsung led the smartphone market by volume with a market share of 22.8 per cent. However, its smartphone shipments declined six per cent year-on-year.

Apple, which saw its iPhone shipments declining, ranked second in the tally with 14.9 per cent share.

Others in the list included Huawei (8.3 per cent), Xiaomi (4.2 per cent), LG and Oppo (3.9 per cent each).

In terms of revenue share, Apple led the smartphone market with a healthy 40 per cent revenue share.

Samsung (23.2 per cent), Huawei (6 per cent), Oppo (3.6 per cent), Xiaomi and LG (2.8 per cent each) followed in the tally.

Several people ET spoke with about Ericsson’s India operations, including its current and former employees, said the Stockholm-based firm has reduced headcount in the last one year or so across functions, in line with its global restructuring.